Involving players with special needs in Games User Research

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Gerling ◽  
Conor Linehan ◽  
Regan Mandryk
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
User Research ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Early Design ◽  
Early Design Stages

This chapter provides an overview of challenges that emerge from the involvement of players with special needs in game development, focusing on user involvement in early design stages, and challenges that emerge during playtesting. Through three case studies focusing on young children, people with disabilities, and older adults, we offer insights into appropriate methodology for GUR with diverse audiences. Additionally, we discuss strategies to establish a respectful and empowering process for user involvement.

scholarly journals Methods for eliciting user experience insights in workplace studies: spatial walkthroughs, experience curve mapping and card sorting

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maral Babapour Chafi ◽  
Antonio Cobaleda-Cordero
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
User Experience ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
User Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Workplace Studies ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Workplace Experiences ◽  
Rich Data

Purpose Drawing on a user-centred design perspective, the purpose of this paper is to (i) provide an overview of three contextual user research methods, namely, spatial walkthroughs, experience curve mapping and card sorting, (ii) exemplify their applications in different case studies and (iii) compare the methods according to their contributions for the study of users’ workplace experiences. Previous workplace studies with qualitative approaches mainly rely on methods such as interviews and observations. Although these methods provide rich data, the understanding of office users, their use situations and finding more fitting workplace designs can benefit from deeper user experience insights. Design/methodology/approach Three methods and their variants were tested in studies of user experience in flexible offices: spatial walkthroughs, experience curve mapping and card sorting. The methods were tested during workshops and interviews in four case studies with a total of 114 participants. Findings Spatial walkthroughs were more immersive and provided the most insights on the actual context with respect to spatial design qualities, while experience curve mapping enabled understanding the temporal aspects of the user experience and card sorting enabled exploring user experiences with respect to predetermined spatial qualities and contextual aspects. Originality/value Spatial walkthroughs, experience curve mapping and card sorting methods have not previously been applied in workplace studies. They facilitate dialogue, participation and user involvement and provide insights for making evidence-based recommendations for designing or redesigning office environments that fit users’ needs and preferences.

Analyzing User Behavior in Digital Games

2011 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Anders Drachen ◽  
Alessandro Canossa
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
User Research ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Current State ◽  
Modern Methods ◽  
Player Game ◽  
Novel Approaches

User research in digital game development has in recent years begun to expand from a previous existence on the sideline of development, to a central factor in game production, in recognition that the interaction between user and game is crucial to the perceived user experience. Paralleling this development, the methods and tools available for conducting user research in the industry and academia is changing, with modern methods being adopted from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Ubiquitous tracking of player behavior and player-game interaction forms one of the most recent additions to the arsenal of user-research testers in game development and game research. Player behavior instrumentation data can be recorded during all phases of game development, including post-launch, and forms a means for obtaining highly detailed, non-intrusive records of how people play games. Behavioral analysis is a relatively recent adoption to game development and research. However, it is central to understanding how games are being played. In this chapter, the current state-of-the-art of behavior analysis in digital games is reviewed, and a series of case studies are presented that showcase novel approaches of behavior analysis and how this can inform game development during production. The case studies focus on the major commercial game titles Kane & Lynch: Dog Days and Fragile Alliance, both developed by IO Interactive/Square Enix Europe.

The Development of the Communication Skills of Individuals Living in Homes for People with Disabilities

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-70
Author(s):  
Petr Kopečný
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Speech Therapy ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Educational Support ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Given

This paper concentrates on the area of special educational support provided to individuals living in homes for people with disabilities in the Czech Republic and presents partial research results illustrating the state of the provision of speech therapy to users of social services facilities falling under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The subject of the research is an analysis of support for the development of the communication skills of pupils living in social services facilities. The partial results of the research outline the approaches employed by the managerial staff of the given facilities in implementing special educational procedures, describe forms of speech therapy provision in homes for people with disabilities, and compare the attitudes of teachers and social services staff to the development of communication with the importance attributed to it by speech therapists and demonstrated by the case studies performed.

Systems Thinking in Aerospace: The Contributions to the Design of Future Airliners’ Single Pilot Operations

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-192
Author(s):  
Daniela Schmid ◽  
Neville A. Stanton
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Sociotechnical Systems ◽  
System Behavior ◽  
Early Design ◽  
Early Design Stages

Systems thinking methods have evolved into a popular toolkit in Human Factors to analyze complex sociotechnical systems at early design stages, such as future airliners’ single pilot operations (SPO). A quantitative re-analysis of studies from a systematic literature review (Schmid & Stanton, 2019b) was conducted to categorically assess their contributions to researching SPO and to fitting their systems thinking methods to contemporary Human Factors problems. Although only 15 of 79 publications applied systems thinking methods to operational, automation, and the pilot incapacitation issue(s) of SPO, these studies provided a comprehensive concept of operations that is able to deal with many issues of future single-piloted airliners. These theoretical models require further evaluation by looking at the empirical instances of system behavior. Finally, the hierarchical structures in system’s development and operations from systems thinking enable Human Factors professionals and researchers to approach SPO systematically.

scholarly journals Transforming Cultural Ideas of Aging and Disability to Improve Policy and Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 645-645
Author(s):  
Anne Ordway
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Quality Of Health Care ◽  
Real World ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Full Participation

Abstract Aging and disability are normative processes that extend across the lifespan. However, ageism and ableism are incorporated into many of our practices, programs, and policies—devaluing the lives of older adults and people aging with disabilities and ultimately preventing their full participation in society. Ageism and ableism are closely connected. For example, both systems identify impairment as an individual and social liability. As recent studies have demonstrated, this has real world implications for the quantity and quality of health care requested, delivered, and received by both older adults and people with disabilities. In this session, we discuss the connections between these two forms of oppression and present recent work by researchers in both fields and the FrameWorks Institute that shows how to transform our cultural ideas of aging and disability and development more inclusive policies and services. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Lifelong Disabilities Interest Group.

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